Escape
by Halogazer
Summary: Sage and Syara have a passionate rendezvous under the watchful gaze of the moon and stars, hoping to escape just for a moment from the constant threat of Talpa and the Dynasty. Sage/OC. One-Shot.


_**Escape**_

As the moon hung high in the night sky, a welcome companion to the glistening stars, a Ronin Warrior sat upright in her bed, chest heaving for air, skin clammy with sweat, and heart pounding hard like a fist.

Syara brought a shaky hand up to her face, folding disheveled, stray hair behind her ears as she gathered her wits about her. The nightmare that jarred her from her sleep was all too real for her liking, enough to snap her out of slumber and have her staring tearfully outside the open window.

She closed her eyes, mentally commanding that she take long, deep breaths to calm down her speeding heart. She drew in several slow drags of air before slowly moving out of bed and towards the open window. The lake outside Mia's house captured the moon's beams, the gentle ripple from the moon's influence calming and mesmerizing.

She decided that she needed to be closer to her element and free from the four walls surrounding her.

Syara left her bathrobe on the back of her door and walked quietly from the house in her pajamas – just a simple pair of shorts and a tanktop – and towards the lake. She thanked the lord above that it was a clear night. She could feel her kanji, Courage, coming to life under the moon's watchful gaze.

She sat at the end of the pier and lay back, gazing up at her guardians, the stars. She mentally traced through them, identifying the constellations that lie hidden against the dark expanse of the night sky.

As bearer of the Cosmos armor, she always drew strength from the moon and stars above, but even more than that, she felt calm pulse through her veins, rejuvenating her. It was the one time she felt like she could not be touched by Talpa and his evil influence. The power of her armor saved her from him before, and it was her hope that it would continue to do so.

"I thought I heard someone come out here."

At the familiar baritone voice, Syara jerked upwards and spun around, finding herself staring into the intense lavender eyes of Sage. It was a rare occasion that his sweeping blonde hair did not cover his eye. He was clad in his dark green pajamas.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Sage asked when Syara made no attempt to offer an explanation. He folded his arms over his chest in wait.

Syara turned around, her eyes settling back onto the relaxing ripples of the lake. "I needed to breathe," she said simply.

Sage stood silent for a moment, studying her, before walking to her side. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?"

Syara couldn't stop herself from scoffing softly under her breath as she moved her gaze back up to the sky, refusing to meet his hard stare. Leave it to Sage not to beat around the bush. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Sage asked incredulously. "As much as you hate it, Syara, you're transparent to me."

"If I were so transparent, you would have known the truth about me being a part of the Dynasty long before I said anything," Syara snapped, giving him a burning glance before returning her attention to the sky that energized her.

"The only reason you told us was because Talpa's warlord mentioned it first," Sage said matter-of-factly, keeping his calm while Syara's anger rose to the surface.

Syara pushed herself to her feet, spinning around to face a staid Sage. "I told you why I never said anything!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking. "I didn't want you to think I was some kind of liability and couldn't be trusted. It's not something I like to talk about!"

Sage said nothing. He closed the distance between them, sliding his hands gingerly over her arms. He could feel the tightness in her muscles, watched her chest heaving up and down in fury. "I know why you didn't say anything. It's a part of your past that you don't like to talk about. We all have that."

Syara moved away from him, feeling her chest tighten as sobs threatened to break through her emotional dam. She mentally yelled at herself to get a grip. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Sage.

"That's what your nightmare was about," Sage said, watching intently as her shoulders trembled and her head hung low. "That's what all of your nightmares are about, Syara. You're afraid of him taking control of you again."

Syara spun around, her face damp from the tears streaming down her reddened face. "Wouldn't you, too, if you had Talpa's darkness churning through you like poison?" she asked bitterly. "My armor saved me then. But Talpa has gotten stronger."

"So have you," Sage interrupted. "You were just a child then, Syara. But you're not anymore. He doesn't have that power over you."

"You don't know, Sage," Syara said with an acerbic laugh. "You can't feel the emptiness I feel. There's a part of my soul with a black hole just waiting to suck in every last bit of me that's good. It happens every day. This temper I have, this anger, it didn't exist before Talpa." She folded her arms under her breasts and peered up at the sky, breathing in the cool night air. "Sometimes I wonder if this was his plan all along, to kidnap me as a child, let me escape with the armor, allow me to grow with it and hone its power, and then strike. I mean, honestly, Sage. What use was I to him as an armorless child?"

Sage shook his head, sighing. "Your cynicism knows no limit, Syara."

"I'm being realistic, Sage!" she shouted, throwing her arms up in the air in aggravation. "I know the Dynasty on a level that none of you ever will. And I'm so glad you don't. It's ugly, and it's a sickness that I can't get rid of." She threaded her fingers through her hair, pushing it back out of her face. "I will never escape his influence, no matter how powerful I become as a Ronin Warrior. It lingers deep inside of me. I can't escape it. It will stay with me long after he's gone from this world."

Sage could feel the heartache coming from her as she spoke to him, as her eyes searched the universe above her for answers, for protection. He rested his hands on her shoulders, causing her to look at him, eyes still tearful. He stole away several stray tears that made a trail down her cheeks. "You should have faith in your own strength. We won't let Talpa use you or your armor against us. The biggest difference isn't that you were a child then. It was that you were alone."

He slid his palm to cup her face. He could feel the heat warming through his hand. "You're not alone now. You have our friends to fight alongside you." He paused for a moment, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "And you have me."

Syara all but melted at his heartfelt promise and closed the distance between them, grazing her lips on the corner of his in gratitude. But before she could pull away from him, he moved his other hand on her face, holding her in place to cover her mouth fully with his.

She didn't fight him; she slumped, defeated, against his passionate kiss, her fingers curling into the soft cotton of his t-shirt for stability. His hands left her face, sliding down her curves to wrap around her slender waist and tug her into his body. A soft moan escaped her mouth at the feel of his hard, muscular body slammed into hers.

Thoughts of Talpa and the Dynasty dissolved from her mind, her body on sensory overload as she drew in the musky smell of him, the touch of his deft fingers splayed across her lower back, the taste of mint on his tongue as it dared to pass through her lips into her mouth.

Sage sucked in air through his nose as he kept his mouth hard against hers and moved his hands down further still until they hugged the curve of her hips.

Syara suddenly snapped away, gasping for air, her lips bruised red from the onslaught of his kiss. She swallowed loudly, staring up at him with hazy, drunken eyes as he bent down quickly, his hands reaching around the backs of her legs and hoisting her from her feet. She gasped in surprise and clutched his shoulders for stability as he held her fast against him.

"Just for tonight," he rasped, catching his breath and grazing his lips against her ear, "I'll be your escape."

The hoarseness in his voice caused sparks to electrocute her limbs back to life, and she ran her fingers through the large tuft of hair that usually hung over his eye, moving it further away. Teal met lavender in full force, and, saying nothing else, Sage moved them from the pier, onto the soft grass, and eased her down, following close behind.

Before Sage could lean down to rain a shower of kisses along the expanse of her exposed neck, she held out a hand, halting him in his tracks. He said nothing, only watching her hungrily as she wriggled her way out of her tanktop. Sage's eyes fell upon her exposed breasts, taut and begging to be touched. As she tossed her shirt to the side, Sage quickly tugged the t-shirt over his head and threw it over his shoulder.

Sage's mouth was on hers again, this time kneading short, teasing kisses against her before making a trail to her neck and suckling the tender flesh there. He felt the vibration of her moan in her throat as he continued his journey downward, nipping against her collarbone for a short moment, and moved further down still until he reached her breast.

Syara's fingers slid through the back of his hair, gripping firmly as tingles sparked wherever his mouth touched. And now those tingles flared to life as his tongue slid gently over her nipple before suckling it, giving it careful attention.

As his mouth continued bestowing pleasure to her skin, he trailed fingers along her sides, catching the top of her shorts. He felt her jerk just slightly as his fingers slid under both her shorts as well as her panties, the tips of his fingers sparking flames against her already hot skin. The fabric teased her as both garments glided past her knees until he gently removed them from her ankles and tossed them carelessly over his shoulder.

He stared down upon her body, eyes capturing every last inch of her in hopes he could memorize the way she looked under the watchful gaze of the stars above.

Nerve endings in her body stood at attention, crying and begging for the touch of his fingers at all corners of her flesh. A hand trailed down her body, dipped into the smooth crevice of her navel, before finding its destination between the juncture of her legs.

Syara drew in a hiss of air when she felt his fingers graze over her most sensitive region, taunting her with gentle, torturous touches.

She rasped his name and gripped his shoulders, her nails threatening to break skin. She spread her knees in an unconscious reaction when a finger slid decadently inside her. Arching her back, pressing her lower body against his hand, she twisted her head to the side, her heated cheek grazed by cool blades of grass.

Sage's fingers continued their relentless ministrations against her, throwing her into a series of gentle writhes to the silent melody he so expertly weaved, the song only she could hear.

His eyes traveled over her, entranced by her fidgeting, as his finger deepened, quickened, inside of her. He felt her inner muscles begin to clamp down around him and, knowing she was drawing close, entered another finger into her depths. She moaned loudly, graciously, and slammed her eyes shut, whimpering for a release that felt far too distant for her comfort.

He could feel the tightness in his pants and, in an effort to bring her over the brink, leaned down and covered her swollen, throbbing nub with his hot mouth.

Syara released a loud, shrill moan at the sudden change in sensation and pushed herself into his mouth, the electricity crackling through her. She cried out his name in a desperate plea, her panting now short and sharp, as she reached for the peak.

And with another lap of his tongue, another thrust of his fingers, a wave crashed over her, drowning her in a million shards of pleasure.

Sage slowly, gently, slid his fingers from inside of her, sticky from her release, and pressed lazy kisses in a trail from her thighs, her stomach, her breasts, until his lips found hers once more.

Syara could taste herself as his tongue slipped inside her mouth, sucking the air from her lungs in a deep kiss. She moved her hands down his toned stomach to the top of his pants, tugging them down his hips.

Sage broke away from the kiss to groan as his pants moved past his hips, his violently throbbing shaft springing free. He maneuvered his legs to pull himself from the annoying garment, kicking it to the side with the rest of their discarded clothes.

His body jerked, a hiss escaping his throat, when he felt Syara's fingers graze and encircle his aching member. Her touches were almost painful and, having just seen her reach completion, feared his own was not far behind.

He snapped a hand over her wrist, tugging it away from him. "Don't," he said through gritted teeth.

Syara stared at him in confusion as he pushed her arm above her head and slanted his mouth hard against hers. He split her legs apart with his knee, settling himself in between them as if he'd always belonged there.

And, with no warning, he guided himself inside of her, tight and wet, rousing a gasp and a moan against his mouth. But he refused to pull away from the kiss, aiming to leave her breathless.

Syara angled her hips into his as he inched into her deliciously, her walls swallowing him up hungrily. He released her wrist and propped himself up, his fingers digging into the cool earth on both sides of her head. And with newfound stability, he began his dance inside her, pumping her with slow, long drags.

She snapped her head from his kiss to breathe, moaning his name in a whisper as his thrusts grew in speed and intensity. She reached up for him, snaking her arms around his shoulders. With another deep thrust, she dug her nails into his skin, leaving red crescents in her wake.

Sweat rolled down Sage's face as he panted with every quickened, desperate jerk against her, eager to give her another release and find his own.

He needed it now.

He grabbed her ankle, draping it over the top of his shoulder, then did the same with the other, all the while keeping himself propped up on a shaky hand.

It was as if he had entered them both into another world entirely, the pleasurable sensations now kicked into overdrive as he felt himself reaching the hilt of her body.

Syara moaned his name loudly, appreciatively, as her fingers dug into the moist soil for stability, ripping blades of grass from the ground, while he continued his frantic onslaught to bring them to the edge.

Sage felt himself reaching such a precipice and, wishing to bring it about faster for the both of them, took her hand in his and guided it to the center of their joining with a single, silent nod of encouragement.

She continued to mewl and moan as her fingers reached for the swollen nub, rubbing it furiously while he continued to pump himself against the friction of her clenching walls.

Sage watched her in a daze, the sight of her touching herself in desperation at his own silent suggestion igniting the burning flame in his stomach into a white, hot explosion. And it was then that he felt himself tighten, his release gloriously upon him.

With one final, magnificent thrust inside her, he grunted her name, his muscles tense, as he spilled his seed deep inside of her, a rush of warm relief crashing over him.

Syara followed suit, her touches, his grunting of her name, and his heat rushing through her a delectable combination that made her see stars behind her eyes. She curled her body up into Sage as she rode out the waves of her orgasm, grasping him tightly to steady herself.

Sage pulled himself from her wet depths and slumped down upon her, his arms shaky as he tried to keep his full weight from collapsing over her. His hair stuck to the side of his face, damp with sweat, and his chest heaved for much-needed drinks of air.

Syara made a contented noise deep in the bed of her throat and nuzzled into his neck, pressing a lazy kiss there. She pulled him down next to her, and he wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes and listening to the steadying beat of her heart.

And for the first time in a very long time, Syara felt calm, at ease, and as if nothing, not even Talpa and the Dynasty, could touch her as she lie in the protective expanse of Sage's arms with the moon's watchful gaze still high above.

* * *

**A/N: I haven't written Ronin Warriors in years, and I decided to revamp Syara a bit and give her and Sage another go. Overall, I'm pleased with the outcome since it has been so long since I've revisited these two. I missed my Sagey, so this was nice to do. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! ~Halo**


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